Daily Journey Through the Great Fast With the Early Churchনমুনা

There is no sin without forgiveness except the one without repentance. Our Lord said, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men” [Matthew 12:31]. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:8) and if we refuse the work of the Spirit within us, we will not repent and this is considered blasphemy against the Spirit and consequently it is not forgiven.

Temptation is not the same as sin. When we have a debt or trespass (sin), we need to be forgiven, but when we are tempted we are in need of being delivered. James 1:14-15 says that the spiritual progression of our heart is desire to temptation leading to sin to death. When we are being tempted we are told to flee, not because we have sinned, but because we are in a very dangerous position to sin.

The devil will try to convince us that the temptations are sinful, but that is the furthest thing from the truth...after all, “he [the devil] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” [John 8:44]. As an example: a person who is addicted to drugs, alcohol or pornography, is sinning but when a person is offered drugs, alcohol or are alone and easy access to look at pornography, that person is being tempted but did not sin. It is not unnatural these days to see someone walk down the street wearing very little for the imagination, but when we see this person and avert our gaze, we have not sinned...the long gaze or double-take are the sin. King David didn’t avert his gaze but his desire for what he saw led to his inquiring - desire leading to temptation to sin to death (James 1:14-15). Temptation isn’t a sin, but giving into it is.

We may be tempted to not repent but let us take example of King David - his repentance, written for us as Psalm 50 (Psalm 51 in Orthodox Canon), led to his restoration and shows us that there is forgiveness of sins and comfort from our guilt, if we do so with repentance. If we choose not to repent then we choose to close ourselves off from the grace of God and He will not force Himself on to someone that doesn’t want Him in their lives.

“Pay attention carefully. After the sin comes the shame; courage follows repentance. Did you pay attention to what I said? Satan upsets the order; he gives the courage to sin and the shame to repentance.” [St. John Chrysostom, 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople and a “doctor of the Church”]

“[Regarding confession, some] flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day. I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness” [Tertullian of Carthage, 3rd century scholar]